The blockade had been operating for nearly five weeks, protesting loss of koala habitat and preventing haulage trucks from bringing logs out of the forest.

“This was a peaceful community response to an outdated and destructive government approach to managing our precious forests,” Dawn Walker said in State Parliament today.

“The government knows they can’t win the public relations battle over logging, so they have to bring in police and threaten peaceful protestors with arrest to get their way.

“The fact that vital koala habitat can be lawfully logged in this day and age is as stupid as it is outrageous.

“I congratulate the community for taking a stand to try and stop logging operations as the government is clearly beholden to big logging interests.

“The NSW Liberal-Nationals are a party of environmental vandals who have no ability to see the massive tourism potential that would come from protecting these forests in a new Great Koala National Park.

“The Greens will be doing everything we can to make the need for Great Koala National Park an issue in the upcoming state election to be held in March next year.”